<img aria-describeby = "caption-attachment-21606" data-attachment-id = "21606" data-permalink = "https://ct.counseling.org/2019/07/from-the-president-what-is -Your mission / paul-sakuma-photographer-www-paulsakuma-com / "data-orig-file =" https://ct.counseling.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/big-heathertrepal_headshot.jpg "data-orig-size =" 427,640 "data-comments-opens =" 1 "data-image-meta =" {"aperture": "0", "credit": "Paul Sakuma Photography", "camera" : "Canon EOS 7D", "Caption": "Paul Sakuma Photographer www.paulsakuma.com", "created_timestamp": "1553690719", "copyright": "", "focal_length": "110", "iso": " 400 "," shutter_speed ":" 0.005 "," title ":" Paul Sakuma Photographer www.paulsakuma.com "," guidance ":" 0 "}" data-image-title = "Trepal" data-image-description = "
Heather Trepal, the 68th President of the American Counseling Association
"data-medium-file =" https://ct.counseling.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/big-heathertrepal_headshot-200×300.jpg "data-large-file =" https: //ct.counseling .org / wp-content / uploads / 2019/07 / big-heathertrepal_headshot.jpg "class =" size-medium wp-image-21606 "src =" https://ct.counseling.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2019/07 big-heathertrepal_headshot-200×300.jpg "alt =" "width =" 200 "height =" 300 "/>
Heather Trepal, the 68th President of the American Counseling Association
Happy New Year! The end of the old year and the beginning of the new year are often a time for reflection, review and goal setting. Consultants are experts in helping their clients develop and achieve their goals. We know that the goals with the best chance of success are those that are simple, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed.
I thought about the history of the American Counseling Association and how our predecessors imagined and developed their goals for the consulting profession. ACA was originally founded as the American Personnel and Guidance Association in 1952. I don't know if our founding members could have introduced today's consulting profession over 60 years ago. After all, society has changed significantly during this time, and although some customer concerns remain, new trends have emerged. Regardless, we have built a strong profession over the past six decades, including obtaining a counseling license in all 50 states and working with counselors with clients and students at various levels of employment and treatment.
A special (and more recent) effort is noticed when reviewing the professional objective. From 2005 to 2013 ACA launched an initiative jointly funded with the American Association of State Counseling Boards entitled 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling. This historic effort brought together delegates from 31 consulting organizations to focus on strategic visions for the profession. Through their efforts, the participants developed a consensus definition of advice, the Building Blocks to Portability Project and the principles for standardizing and strengthening the profession.
Although I am certain that the title "20/20" was chosen to capture the idea of perfect vision, I cannot help but notice that the year 2020 has now come. I was curious to reconsider this group's recommendations for the future, perhaps to use them as a source of informed inspiration, as we continue to strive to set goals to advance our profession. As I review it, I can see that we have certainly made (and continue to) make progress on some of these important ideas. These principles continue to inspire me and I list them here in the hope that you may find them useful.
The 20/20 principles for standardizing and strengthening the profession include:
Strengthening identity
We present ourselves as a profession
Improving public awareness / recognition and advocacy of professional issues
Create license portability
Expansion and promotion of the research base of professional advice
Focus on students and prospective students
Promotion of the well-being and advocacy of customers
For more information on the 20/20 initiative, see counselling.org/about-us/about-aca/20-20-a-vision-for-the-future-of-counseling.
What does the future look like for ACA as well as for the entire consulting profession? Only time can tell. However, some wonderful things are imminent, including the ACA 2020 Conference & Expo in San Diego from April 16-19. In addition, the ACA election process is ongoing and we are preparing to greet the next group of association leaders. We have also included intergovernmental efforts to support the move towards portability of licenses for national advisors. ACA remains committed to advancing our profession in terms of equality with other mental health professions and through increased recruitment and loan repayment options. We continue to grow as a more diverse and comprehensive organization. Finally, the 70th anniversary of ACA is due in 2022!
We all have the task of further developing the consulting profession in 2020 and beyond. Just as we do with our customers, we have to develop and set goals for our profession. I wish you all the best at the beginning of the new year as you continue to set and achieve your personal and professional goals.
